Campaign Rallies Rockwell Workers
July 14, 2005
An organizing campaign at the Rockwell Collins plant in Melbourne, Florida has workers rallying around the IBEW for better pay, benefits and a voice on the job.
The workers took the initiative by reaching out to the IBEW through the union’s Web site two months ago, drawn to the labor organization that represents workers at other Rockwell Collins plants at Coralville (Local 1634) and Cedar Rapids (Local 1362) in Iowa.
“We are in a full-blown campaign mode, house-calling and getting fliers out,” said IBEW International Lead OrganizerCarmella Cruse. “The company is rebutting and holding captive audience meetings. Basically, they’re doing their part and we’re doing ours.”
Workers make an average of $10,000 a year less in the Florida plant than those covered by agreements in Iowa, Cruse said. Workers in Iowa also have pension plans; management in Melbourne has recently announced plans to thoroughly gut the pension program there. The Melbourne plant manager has said publicly that he does not believe in cost of living raises, standard fare in union contracts that acknowledge that as prices rise each year, wage levels should rise accordingly. Workers at the Florida plant, who number approximately 660, pay three times more out-of-pocket for health insurance than IBEW-represented workers in Iowa, Cruse said.
When organizers initially contacted the workers, most of whom are technicians and production employees at the facility that produces airplane cockpit control boards for commercial jets, they found a unit with low-morale and dismayed by lack of respect by management, said IBEW International Representative Troy Johnson.
“The workers are fed up with the way management been treating them,” Johnson said. “They’re tired of the intimidation and decided to do something about it.”
A veteran five-year technician at the Melbourne plant said people used to enjoy their jobs and felt their contributions were valued by management. This man, who did not wish to be named for fear of retaliation by management, said workers are struggling with a rising cost of living and skyrocketing housing prices.
“People have two or three jobs,” the technician said. “They don’t have time for their children.”
IBEW leaders have not yet petitioned the National Labor Relations Board for an election. But they have filed unfair labor practice charges against Rockwell Collins for some of the most blatant violations of the National Labor Relations Act, including management telling workers they are being monitored and followed from meetings with organizers and using the offer of pay to dissuade workers from supporting the union, Cruse said.
One damaging flier organizers have distributed is an article describing the company’s award by the Union Label and Service Trades Department, AFL-CIO, for outstanding labor-management relations at the Iowa plants. The IBEW nominated Rockwell Collins for the award, for which the company acknowledges the contributions of their union workers as key factors for its success. Surrounded by the smiling faces of IBEW leaders in Iowa, former Missouri Gov. Bob Holden presented the award to the company’s senior vice president of operations, Kent Statler. An article about the award may be viewed at www.unionlabel.org/letters/mj2004.pdf.
“Does this give you the impression that Rockwell Collins management in Cedar Rapids is anti-union?” the flier reads. “It sounds more like management in Melbourne doesn’t think you deserve to have the same voice they embrace in Cedar Rapids and Coralville.”
Workers from the Iowa plants have also reached out to their Melbourne counterparts through a Yahoo! Finance message board on the company. One posting reads, “Good move, MLB, FL. It’s about time you stood up as one collective voice and started your own union. As a shareholder of Collins stock and an employee, I know that a good union can be healthy for the company’s growth. The IBEW is a good union and will help you grow with the company as well. Be prepared to hear the worst about unions.”
The Melbourne technician said he has high hopes for a successful campaign that will result in greater cooperation between workers and management. “The IBEW is coming in to help put the two teams together,” he said. “These workers hustle, go eight hours straight and put out millions of dollars worth of boards every day. Those people are now going to be happy.”
